Tokyo Metropolitan Government Top Page

Tokyo Food Safety Information Center » Good things to know » Poisonous plants easily mistaken for harmless ones » Water-hemlock (Umbelliferae)

Water-hemlock (Umbelliferae)

Large perennial plant that grows to a height from 80 to 100 cm. Young leaves and flowers resemble edible cicely. Characteristics of water-hemlock include a fatty green underground stem with bamboo shoot like knots.

Characteristics

Habitat	It grows in areas with high contents of water, such as streams, shallow ponds, marshes, swamps, etc.
Parts of the plant that may be ingested accidentally.	Leaves, roots. It might be mistaken for cicely, since it has a similar shape. Additionally, cases of mistaking its rhizome for wasabi have been reported.
Symptoms	Vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, cramps, pulse increase, breathing difficulties, etc.
Venomous constituents	Cicutoxin. Whole plant is poisonous.

Water-hemlock
Water-hemlock underground stem	Water-hemlock flowers